A Sweet-Smelling Aroma
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us....
A Sweet-Smelling Aroma
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2
John the Baptist said of Jesus, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, Who, takes away the sin of the world.’ Paul said, ‘Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us.’ When we arrive at our text, we read that in giving Himself for us, Christ did so as, ‘an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.’ When Noah departed from the ark, the Scripture records, ‘Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma...’ Thus, the language Paul is using harks back to the burnt offerings of ancient days. The Old Testament is full of such burnt offerings, often of a lamb, which the Scripture describes as, ‘a sweet savor.’ As Paul articulates it, he is using the language to raise those images in the minds of his readers. It is significant that the crucifixion of Christ was during the Passover time. In Israel’s history, Passover was the beginning of their year by Divine ordination. It marked their liberation from the bondage of Egypt. It was inextricably associated with the sacrifice of the lamb. Therefore, given Paul’s direct reference to Christ as our Passover, the concept of His sacrifice as ‘a sweet-smelling aroma’ runs from the Old Testament through the New. When we behold the crucified Christ, we are beholding the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world by His sacrifice. We are saved for all eternity by the blood of the Lamb.
Our Wise and Holy God,
we rejoice that You have given us Your Son.
We praise You that He is our Sacrificial Lamb.